The Bedtime Story (Guarding the Angel)
by DarthObsydian
Summary: Mara Jade is unable to find peace after she is taken by the Emperor, Palpatine tells her a story to ease her mind. "One day, much to the surprise and fear of the angel's evil parents, her guardian arrived. He was an imposing figure, dressed from head to toe in black, as to blend in with the shadows that would keep the angel safe from harm. He would teach her to love the darkness."


"_Every angel is terrifying."_

-Rainer Maria Rilke

**14 years BBY**

"I'm terribly sorry to bother you at this hour, Your Majesty, but the girl requested you specifically. The child quite refused to sleep until she was told a story." DJ-16 said, his voice box transmitting a very prominent tone of reverence and fear. "Only you would do."

"Is that so," the Emperor said, regarding the caretaker droid with cruel indifference. He had foreseen that this moment would come. Better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later.

"Yes, Sire. I regret that I was unsuccessful in controlling her, ah, _high spirits_."

Palpatine raised a brow. From within his robes he removed a large book, bound in dragon hide. On the front cover was a storm of falling stars, crafted from delicate brush strokes of a skilled, patient hand.

"A book, My Lord?"

Palpatine nodded, having no interest in conversing with a droid.

"Every child loves a fairytale," he said. With that, the Emperor entered the orphan's cell.

***x*X*x*X*x* **

Yellow eyes met her emerald ones as he pulled the crimson blanket up under her chin. Red curls fell over the pillow as she blinked and then trained her attention on his every movement until he had seated himself down in a rocker beside her bed and opened the book on his lap.

"I've been told you are having trouble sleeping," he said, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The girl nodded.

"You would like a story?"

Once more, a nod was her only reply.

"Well, I know just the one," he said, holding up the book for her to see. "It's brand new. I had it made especially for you." This earned her attention. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes, pwease," she said. Those two words. Nothing more.

"Very well." The Emperor shifted to a more comfortable position and then:

"A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the most beautiful little angel was born. She had long red curls, eyes of emerald green, and skin so white it seemed to glow."

At this, Mara perked up and she turned to Palpatine, silent but ever watching.

"Now the angel's parents were jealous of their child and of how pretty she was and of how gorgeous and of how powerful she would one day become. So, in a fit of desperation, they stole their daughter from Iego and took her to a place where they could hide her away, so that no one would ever know what she truly was and so that she would never, ever get her wings."

Mara's eyes widened, but still she remained silent.

The Emperor turned the page and continued. "The little girl was so sad, and so lonely that her wicked parents decided to buy her a globe filled with falling stars. That way, the little angel would feel like she was back at home flying under the moon's pale light."

Palpatine noted the flicker of recognition in the child's eye and, encouraged, he pressed on. "However, the parent's did not know just how smart the little angel was and that, as she slept, she would call out with her heart, praying that someone would come to find her, to save her, to help her regain her wings. In short, the angel prayed for a guardian."

Mara was sitting up in bed, hanging on every word he said. This was a trait, he knew, that would continue on for the rest of her life.

"One day, much to the surprise and fear of the angel's evil parents, her guardian arrived. He was an imposing figure, dressed from head to toe in black, as to blend in with the shadows that would keep the angel safe from harm. He would teach her to love the darkness.

'Please! Don't take our baby,' the wicked mother said, as she ran to block the door where they kept the girl caged. 'I'll do anything! Just, please, not our little girl, not our angel!"

Tears were welling up in the girl's eyes now and he supposed she remembered those words well. No matter. The girl should know the truth. If ever she were to hate him, now would be the time.

"'You would do well not to resist,' the angel's Guardian said and from his finger tips shot a magnificent power. Power so fierce and so hot it appeared like blue flames- like lightening. Lightening that appeared in the sky the angel was so violently ripped from."

"Did it huht thah mama," asked a tiny voice from the bed. Her wide eyes were now catching onto the game.

_Perhaps all isn't a waste, after all._

"Yes, I'm afraid it did," the Emperor said. "You see, the angel's mother was a monster. Anyone who attempts to harness the will of a creature destined for magnificence does not deserve the very air they breathe. Do you understand?"

The child said nothing for a long while and he fancied that she was sorting things out in her little mind. At last her eyes found his with a tiny nod.

"Den what 'append," she said, and slowly slid back down underneath the covers.

Palpatine smiled and turned the page. "When the angel heard the sound of the lightening she became very excited because she knew that her guardian had come for her and that he had brought the heavens down to the earth to protect her. However, her wicked parents had lied to her for so long that a part of her did not remember who she was, nor did she know what she could one day become, so all the happiness the angel felt, transformed into fear.

The angel was afraid of her guardian. This hurt him quite terribly, seeing as how hard he had fought to find her, but he knew… it wasn't her fault. The angel's parents were to blame. _They_ had robbed her of her home. _They_ had robbed her of her wings. Now, _they_ had attempted to rob her of her guardian too! He would not allow it."

"What he do?" Mara asked, but Palpatine was certain she knew that this was no mere story book.

"When the guardian saw that his angel was afraid he became angry. He waved his hand and twelve warriors ran in, all dressed in shining white armor to remind the angel of how her skin once glowed. They pulled out blasters as black as the night and fired shooting stars into the bodies of the evil parents, creating holes so that light could shine through the evil of their souls.

Now, when the angel's parents fell to the ground, the white warriors started to beat the bodies, covering the walls and floor in crimson- like the setting sun the angel once loved to watch from the highest, cloud dipped mountain top."

Palpatine gazed at the girl from over the rim of the book, delighted to see the tears streaming down her face as she stared, motionless, at the wall.

"While the warriors recreated the colors of twilight for the angel, her guardian- in an attempt to help her remember- took her hand, despite how hard she tried to fight him. After all, it wasn't her fault she did not know who she was. The guardian led her into the garden in front of her house, in front of her prison, and allowed the angel to be with creations almost as beautiful as the angel herself. Then, he issued a command and the white warriors- now painted red- exited the house.

A moment passed and then the house erupted, like the blazing sun, ridding the world of the forms of the angel's evil parents and filling the night sky with its final light before fading first to ember, then to ash. The guardian wanted the angel to get one last glimpse of the sun before the dusk, before she would have to be consumed in darkness. For darkness would keep her safe; it would be her shackles and her sanctuary and once she discovered the power of what she could be- what she was _meant_ to be- her chains would be broken and the angel would find her wings.

The angel would fly again."

Palpatine closed the book and turned to the child calmly, and when he spoke, he did so with a voice filled with mock concern. "Do you think you can sleep better now, little one?"

Mara remained motionless and her glistening eyes never left the wall.

"I thought so," he said, patting the girl on the head as he rose from his seat. "If you ever have another nightmare, feel free to come to me again and we'll read another story."

Palpatine smiled at the girl's shudder. "Sleep well, my child. Dream that you are flying. Dream of angels, of sunsets… and do not leave your bed again."

***x*X*x*X*x* **

The Emperor emerged from the room to find the caretaker droid in the same place as before. He tossed the book and DJ-16 caught it with a noise that sounded somewhat like shock.

"If she gives you trouble again, threaten to read this. After that, I'm sure you won't have too much trouble with her _high spirits_."

"She is quite pleasant, isn't she My Lord," the droid said, with a tone similar to affection.

The Emperor smirked. "Like an angel."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This story is a now a missing scene from the story "Fragments" by **DarkJediJade.  
**(One because she requested it & Two because this is part Christmas present/part bedtime story)  
As such, **the cover art is also her doing**. *Is there a pattern developing here? Yes, I believe so.*

SO, on that note- and as you can probably tell- I am deliriously tired. However, I hope you get some enjoyment out of this fic either way.  
**& May the Force be with you.**


End file.
